Forest reserve cracks down on construction to preserve green

To better protect the ecological environment in Changbai Mountain in Northeast China, the local administrative committee cracked down on construction in the reserve.

"Since June 2014, all constructions in the reserve, whether five-star hotels or fancy restaurants, were torn down," said Xie Zhongyan, a member of the National People's Congress and director of the Changbai Mountain National Nature Reserve Administrative Committee, adding that it was not an easy task.

The crackdown cost more than 4 billion yuan, Xie said.

Instead, the government encourages building hotels and other entertainment venues in nearby towns.

Tourists could enjoy modern entertainment facilities in towns and enjoy views of unspoiled nature in the mountains.

If visitors see deer, black bears, leopards and Serbian tigers, they would be excited, and spur tourism in the area, Xie said, emphasizing that the crackdown did not hurt tourism in the long run.

"Building a hotel is easy, but it is difficult to breed wild animals such as spotted deer, black bears and Serbian tigers. If the ecological system were destroyed, it is extremely difficult to recover," Xie said, adding that the attraction of Changbai Moutain is its ecological diversity, which were accumulated over thousands of years.

President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of the ecological environment on March 6 when he visited the Jiangxi delegates.

Bayanqolu, Jilin Party secretary, said in the east of Jilin province, the core of development is to relocate mountain residents and reform the State administrative area, reinforce the protection of natural forests, and to reduce and even ban commercial deforestation.

"Ecological resources are Jilin's most valuable asset," he said.